As Chicago kids race toward summer break, a lot of parents are quietly doing the math on something less exciting than camp or beach days: how to keep everyone fed when school cafeterias shut down. When those kitchens close, many children lose their most reliable meals, and local groups say recent changes to the safety net are making that gap even tougher to bridge. In response, FOX 32 Cares and the Greater Chicago Food Depository have launched a virtual drive aimed at raising $15,000 to fund roughly 45,000 meals across the city.
Drive Aims To Plug The Immediate Gap
The campaign runs through the end of May, and organizers say every dollar donated will provide three meals through the Food Depository’s network of community partners. As reported by FOX 32 Chicago, the $15,000 goal would translate into about 45,000 meals and send donors to a Keeping Kids Nourished fundraising page.
Why Summer Matters
The Greater Chicago Food Depository warns that “one in four families with children in the Chicago Metro area is experiencing food insecurity,” a rate that would be alarming in any season, let alone when school meals disappear. Fewer than 12 percent of students who receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year access summer meal sites, leaving a huge number of kids at risk of going without.
In fiscal year 2024, the Food Depository served more than 430,000 youth meals through its summer feeding programs and is urging families to check Summer EBT and local meal maps for help, according to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
SNAP Changes Are Tightening The Safety Net
On top of the seasonal strain, federal and state changes to SNAP are tightening the screws on households that were already stretched. New work and reporting rules that had been delayed are now set to begin Feb. 1, 2026, in Illinois, a reset that has recipients and providers scrambling to prepare. The updated schedule and local responses were detailed by The Chicago Reporter.
Pantry leaders told FOX 32 Chicago they expect more neighbors to rely on emergency food if benefits are interrupted, which means community drives like this one may have to stretch even further.
How Families Can Get Help
Many children may also qualify for Summer EBT, a federal grocery benefit that provided assistance to more than 1.2 million Illinois children last year, and families are encouraged to use the online screener to see if they are automatically enrolled. The Food Depository highlights both the Summer EBT screener and local summer meal maps as key tools for getting through the break.
The Illinois ABE "Manage My Case" portal can be used to check SNAP status, report work hours or request exemptions as needed, and families are directed to the ABE portal for step-by-step instructions and contact information.
How To Help
For those who can give time or money, organizers say the need is immediate while school is out and the campaign is still running through May. Donations can be made at Keeping Kids Nourished 2026, where FOX 32 and partners note that one dollar funds three meals. Residents can also contact their local pantry to volunteer for shifts and to help neighbors find summer meal sites in their own communities.
